


Ships That Pass in the Night

by Tye



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Realities, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Idk how to properly tag this, M/M, Reincarnation, the character deaths aren't exactly permanent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 03:57:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13138593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tye/pseuds/Tye
Summary: "Ships that pass in the night- Often said of people who meet for a brief but intense moment, and then part, never to see each other again. These people are like two ships that greet each other with flashing lights and then sail off into the night."In every version of events, however brief, their paths intersected.Hello. Good bye. Rinse. Repeat.





	Ships That Pass in the Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Merry Christmas Akiko!!
> 
> So I hear you like angst :D
> 
> This isn't exactly what you asked for, but your original prompt is mixed in here (twice actually). I hope you enjoy it!!
> 
> (I also planned on this being 3-5k but the word count got out of control. whoops)
> 
> (also also Ao3 was being really weird when I tried to post this. I someohow accidentally posted this twice, then deleted one fic, but I think I picked the wrong one so I had to repost and delete the other one.)

They were sparring partners in SEP. That's how they first met. Instead of saying hello, Gabe greeted Jack with a left hook to the face. He got a black eye and a broken nose. If he stares at his reflection long enough he can find the tiny dip in his bridge where Gabe's fist first made contact.

Jack learned early Gabe would make a powerful ally, and an even more powerful enemy. For decades they fought on the same side. Then one day, they didn't. Gabe double-crossed him. Their relationship, and the Overwatch Swiss headquarters blew up in their faces. They've been hunting each other ever since.

When they meet they fight with no holds barred. First Cairo, then Numbani, then London, Oasis, Dorado. Jack escapes their battles by the skin of his teeth. Gabe, no- Reaper, is always one step ahead of him. A throwback to their first sparring session where he knocked him out cold with four well-placed blows. Fighting to the death feels like fate.

Jack sits backed into a corner. Out of ammo, out of stamina, with broken ribs and bullet holes in both thighs. His vision's gone hazy and it hurts to breathe. Through his mind run all his regrets, and all the things he wishes he could have said.

Jack blinks, willing himself to focus on the man standing above him. Gabe's eyes, once so warm and brown, are concealed away behind slits in a mask. He presses the barrel of his shotgun to his forehead. The metal is cool against his skin. There's a cold cackle, an almighty, ear-splitting bang.

And nothing.

 

_\- reset -_

 

The Soldier Enhancement Program is the classified, top-secret military stuff conspiracy theories are born from. The more Jack learns, the more questions and less answers he has. He's standing inside the military base ready to report for duty, and he still has no idea what he signed up for. He isn't even sure where this base is  _,_ though the snow-capped mountains in the distance tell him he's far from Indiana.

"And here's your room." Varma, one of the other SEP members, shows him around the base. He swipes his keycard against a scanner next to the door. It slides open with a loud click.

The room is small and simple. Sterile white walls, a few pieces of mismatched metal furniture, and a square window with a view of the mountains. Jack imagines it's what a dorm would be like, had he gone to college.

"The door on the left is your bathroom, right is your closet. There should already be some clothes inside. If they don't fit talk to Rivera. She's in room 17. Otherwise if you need anything I'm down the hall, room 45."

"Thanks."

Jack sets his duffel bag (the only personal item he was allowed to bring) down on his twin bed. Wedged between the mattress and the wall he notices the bent corner of a piece of paper. Curious, he pries it out- careful not to tear it, and examines it in the light.

It's a photograph of a boy around his age wearing a black graduation cap and gown. He holds a diploma in one hand and his other rests on the shoulder of an older, wrinkled man (his grandfather maybe?) standing beside him. The boy has a heartwarming smile and scraggly peach fuzz on his chin. Like he's trying to grow a beard. He must think it makes him look older and tougher, but it backfires and instead just emphasizes how young he is.

Jack is certain he's never met this boy before, but something about him strikes him as familiar. His face is lodged in his memory somewhere like a ghost. There's a name on the tip of his tongue he can't bring to life.

"Hey, who's this?"

Varma looks over his shoulder at the photograph. "Oh, that's Reyes. This used to be his room. Someone must've missed this when they cleared out his stuff this morning."

"Was he one of the guys you introduced me to in the rec room?" He asks. There has to be an explanation why he looks at this boy and feels like he's lost something.

"Um... no, Reyes left the program."

"Come again? I thought once you were here you weren't allowed to leave."

Varma nods without clarifying.

"Well what happened to him? He didn't- he's not dead, is he?"

Varma grimaces and pinches the bridge of his nose. It takes him a moment to respond.

"I don't know what happened to him. Nobody does. All I can say is a couple days ago Reyes complained about some headaches. Then this morning he didn't show up for breakfast and all of his stuff was gone."

"That's it? But-"

"Morrison, please don't push it."

Jack wants to question him further. He needs to know what happened to this boy. There has to be more to his story. But he senses from Varma's authoritative tone and the fearful look in his eyes more probing won't give him any satisfactory answers. He backs down.

"Okay. Sorry."

"It's alright. Friendly word of advice though, people here don't like it when you ask too many questions."

Jack tacks the photograph onto the wall, next to the pictures of his family and friends. Somehow, it feels right to put it there.

 

_\- reset -_

 

Jack groans as the 3:24 train whistles and rolls past him out of the station. If he arrived thirty seconds earlier he'd be seated in one of the faux-leather benches instead of standing on the rainy platform watching it depart.

The next train doesn't come for an hour. He'd rather die than spend it waiting outside in the cold. His sweatshirt is soaked through to his skin. Water sloshes inside his sneakers. He's shivering, miserable, and out of breath because he had to sprint in a futile attempt to arrive on time.

Jack strolls up the street until he's standing under the neon sign for the Talon Street Cafe. He's passed this place everyday for years and never paid it much mind. There's dozens of grungy coffee shops in this town. They all look the same. Still, the soft light glowing from inside is warm and inviting.

He orders a cappuccino with an extra shot of espresso from a barista with indigo hair and a tattoo on her right arm. Talon Street Cafe won't win any awards for best coffee, but it's warm. Right now he'd drink hot tar if it meant he'd wouldn't be cold.

As he stirs his coffee idly there's a scraping noise behind him. A handsome guitarist drags a barstool across a makeshift stage. Jack watches him as he sits down on the barstool and starts to play.

His music is soft and light, his vocals are smooth and soothing. Jack's never heard anything like it before. His chest feels light. This warms him up more than the coffee. He almost misses his second train because he's so enamored by this man and his music.

Next week the sky is a picture perfect blue. Jack arrives at the station with time to spare. He has no reason to visit the cafe, but as he passes it he steps inside without thinking twice.

It becomes a routine. Every Thursday he orders the same drink from the same barista, sits at the same booth with the stuffing poking through the worn-out seems, listens to the guitarist's his wonderful music, leaves a few dollars in his tip jar, and tries not to melt into a puddle when he smiles at him in thanks.

Then one autumn Thursday there's no music. Jack's cappuccino goes cold as he waits for the guitarist to arrive. He leaves with disappointment churning in his stomach. He considers that the guitarist is on vacation, or fell ill, but he doesn't show up again the next week or the week after.

"Excuse me, where is the guitarist who plays on Thursdays?" He asks the barista the fourth time the stage is empty.

"Gabriel moved to Los Angeles last month. We're working on getting a new regular performer."

"Ok. Thank you."

Jack stops going to Talon Street Cafe. Whenever he smells coffee he's struck with a pang of nostalgia and sadness.

 

_\- reset -_

 

"Excuse me? Do you have a moment to talk about deforestation?"

Jack sees the picket sign before he sees the protester. A giant cardboard rectangle with "Save the Owls" printed in bold red letters. The man holds it up high so it doesn't get lost in the sea of pedestrians.

The protester is around his age, with a bright, handsome smile and a black t-shirt with the same red lettering splayed across his chest. Beads of sweat collect on his forehead beneath the band of his beanie. He must be dedicated to protest out here by himself during the dog days of summer. Either that or insane.

"Every year the spotted owl loses hundreds of acres of land to the logging industry! Together we can make a difference! Sign my petition! Help put an end to this senseless loss of habitat!"

Pedestrians shove past him without sparing a second glance. A group of teenagers in bathing suits side-step him and  _snicker_ while the man's still in earshot. People treat him as if he's invisible. As if he's diseased.

Jack never pays attention to street peddlers, and he's definitely not a tree-hugger. He's never once in his life given a damn about the owls. Still, something about the man and his plight strikes a chord with him.

"So if you're protesting the logging industry, isn't it counterproductive to have people signing a paper petition?"

The man shoots him a proud, triumphant grin. "It's recycled, along with the cardboard in my sign and the cotton in my shirt."

"Well in that case..." Jack grabs the clipboard. He's the second person to sign the petition, right below Gabrielle Hayes, or something like that. The signature is all but illegible.

"Thank you sir!" The man calls after him as he continues up the street.

 

_\- reset -_

 

They say that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Jack slept through his high school World History class.

And apparently so did the entirety of Overwatch. Otherwise someone would have foreseen how it's a terrible idea to attack the Siberian Omnium in the middle of February.

Everything starts according to plan. He and Gabe infiltrate the Omnium and steal the schematics for the new mechs they're building. The Omnic guards never sense their presence. The problems don't arise until they make their escape. It took both of them to open the roof hatch because the wind is so strong. The exposed bit of skin on his nose stings from the cold. Jack can't see 10 feet in front of him. They're lost in a forest of eternally spanning white.

"Sorry guys, this freak blizzard wasn't even on the radar this morning." Torbjörn says over the comms unit. "It's impossible to send in a rescue chopper in these conditions. You guys will have to find a place to hunker down until this storm lets up."

He and Gabe stumble through the blistering cold for an hour until they find a small shed somehow still standing after the Omnics tore Russia to shreds. It's not much warmer inside, but at least they have protection from the wind and snow. They radio HQ their coordinates and curl against each other to share body heat.

"I swear to God, ww-when they get us out of here I'm retiring and moving to Tahiti." Gabe mutters as he rests his head in the crook of Jack's neck.

He can't help but chuckle. Poor guy grew up in Los Angeles and thinks anything below 60 degrees is barbarically cold.

One day huddled in the shed turns into two turns into three. Each morning Jack wakes up with hope this will be the day they get rescued. Each night he goes to sleep disappointed and with an unspoken fear they may never wake up lurking in the back of his head.

On the fourth morning they finish the last of their emergency rations. The battery on Jack's radio blinks critically low. Gabe's ran out of juice last night. They're out of things to burn unless they tear down the walls. They've already ripped out the floorboards. Jack considers foraging for supplies, but he's too weak to do much more than shiver in place. Gabe doesn't even have the strength to do that.

"Gabe, yy-you have to stay awake." Jack gives his face a gentle pat. His eyes flutter open.

"SS-Sorry. I'm just ss-so ttt-tired."

"I hhh-heard on the radio the ww-wind is supposed to calm down tonight. We jj-just have to make it one mmm-more day."

They watch the snow blow past them through the small, foggy window. The wind whistles as the neverending storm rages outside. Their fire slowly burns out and the radio fades away until it's dead quiet. Jack keeps waking Gabe as he falls in and out of consciousness, until eventually he falls asleep too.

When Jack wakes up he's bundled in blankets in a hospital bed at the Overwatch HQ. Instinctively, he reaches out for Gabe. He isn't lying beside him.

It's four days later when they tell him he didn't make it.

 

_\- reset -_

 

As Jack crosses a busy intersection his shoulder collides with a man in a black sweatshirt and skullcap.

"Sorry." The man says before continuing on his way.

On the nightly news Jack hears a story of a pedestrian killed by a drunk driver. He flips the channel before they say the victim's name.

 

_\- reset -_

 

Jack sits in his cubicle and stares at the numbers on his computer screen. It's another slow day at the office. Not from lack of work, but pure boredom. His eyelids are heavy, and his lunch break can't come soon enough.

Jack's desk shakes as his cell phone vibrates inside the top drawer. He checks to make sure his boss isn't around before he answers.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mr. Morrison? I'm Mr. Reyes, Lena's English teacher."

Jack remembers him from the open house back in September. He's a tall, muscular guy, with thin, wiry glasses that make him appear bookish and intelligent. Jack couldn't help but notice (with far more interest than he should have, considering this man is his daughter's teacher) his model good looks and the lack of ring on his left hand.

"Please, call me Jack. What's going on? Lena's not in trouble, is she?"

"Well, I wish she would slow down and concentrate on her work more, but no, she's not in trouble." Mr. Reyes laughs, soft and good-natured. "I'm calling because I'm short on chaperones for our class trip to  _Romeo and Juliet_ tomorrow, and Lena volunteered you."

"Well I don't know why she'd do that. She knows I have to work. Sorry, I really wish I could help you. Maybe I could talk with my boss about getting the day off?"

"No, it's alright. I've still got a couple other parents to call, and if not I can probably convince Mr. Ogundimu to do it. He owes me a couple favors."

The door to his boss's office opens, and she starts walking down the hall towards his cubicle.

"Sorry, I have to let you go. It was good talking to you Mr. Reyes."

"You too Jack."

His phone beeps as Mr. Reyes hangs up.

 

_\- reset -_

 

Jack wakes up groggy and confused. He's in a hospital bed hooked up to a dozen different IV drips and monitoring devices. He can't feel his toes. He reaches out to grab them only to find both his legs are gone.

"Nurse! Hey, can we get a nurse in here?" A man in a hospital gown shouts before hacking out a lung. He's stands clutching an IV pole to stay upright. His face is lined with scars, and there's not a hair on his head.  

"Gabriel, get back into bed." A woman in a lab coat with hair so blonde it's almost white bursts in through the door. She has an accent he can't place. "You know you aren't supposed to be up and about without a nurse to supervise you."

"Sorry, I wanted you guys to know he was awake. I didn't hear anyone coming."

"Thank you Gabriel, now please lie down." The doctor says, then turns to him. She shines a bright light in his eyes. "John, can you hear me?"

"Yes." His voice comes out raspy.

"Good. My name is Dr. Ziegler. John, do you know why you're here?"

"I was… I was in an accident."

It all comes back to him. He was riding his motorcycle on Interstate 54 late at night. Behind him a bright red sports car zooms between lanes. Jack swerves left, thinking the car will go right. Instead the driver also goes left and collides with the back of his bike. Jack tumbles through the air like a ragdoll until he lands on his knees and blacks out from the pain.

"You took a pretty nasty spill. We had to amputate both your legs from your knees down. You also had a ruptured spleen and some second degree burns. Otherwise you were very lucky John. Thank goodness you were wearing a helmet."

"It's Jack. No one calls me John."

"Sorry, I was going off the name on your driver's license. Jack, tomorrow morning I'd like to run some tests on you, but tonight I'll let you rest." Dr. Ziegler checks his vitals and takes a few notes on her tablet before leaving them for the night.

"So how long was I out for?" He asks his roommate, Gabriel- he thinks the doctor said his name was.

"Not long. Only a day or so. They wheeled you in this morning, and I think your accident was last night." Gabriel goes into another coughing fit.

"Are you okay there?"

"Fine, aside from the lung cancer. Guess that's my penance for smoking for 30 years. Sorry in advance if my coughing keeps you up tonight."

"Don't be. I probably wouldn't get much sleep anyway just from all this beeping."

"Light sleeper?"

"Have been since the Crisis."

"You serve?"

"Yeah, in the army. You?"

"Marines."

They stay up all night talking like two kids at a sleepover. Jack's never met anyone he's connected with so fast. After knowing him for hours he's divulging things he's never shared with anyone. It feels like they've known each other all their lives.

Sunlight streams in through the blinds when they both nod off. They only get a few hours rest before the nurses are back in their room giving them commands.

"Jack I'm here to take you up to orthopedics. Gabriel, O'Deorain will be here shortly to prep you for your surgery."

The orthopedician fits him with some temporary leg prosthetics. He spends the rest of the morning in physical therapy taking baby steps on his new limbs.

On his way back to his room he directs the nurse wheeling him to stop at the hospital gift shop. He buys a dozen roses and a get well soon card. He places them both on the nightstand next to Gabe's bed and waits for him to get out of surgery.

Evening falls and the bed across the room is still empty. How long was his surgery supposed to take? Jack gets worried when the sun sets and Gabe still isn't back.

"Hey, where's Gabe?" He asks Dr. Ziegler when she does her final rounds for the night.

She shoots him a sympathetic look. "Oh Jack, I'm so sorry. There was a complication during the surgery. Dr. O'Deorain did all she could, but he didn't make it."

Jack is released from the hospital two weeks later. As he leaves a nurse sweeps up the dead roses in the vase next to his bed.

 

_\- reset -_

 

Jack stares out at the Grand Canyon in wonderment and awe. All the extra hours he worked to save for this vacation were well worth it.

He feels someone tap his shoulder behind him. He turns to find a dark-haired man around his age and two kids, a boy in a cowboy hat and a girl with purple hair.

"Excuse me, would you mind taking our picture?" The man asks.

"Sure."

They stand on the bridge in front of the canyon. The man puts his arms around his kids and smiles his way. Jack snaps a photo, then another for good measure before handing the phone back to him.

"Thanks!"

"No problem."

Jack looks around the park grounds for them the next few days, wondering if he'll run into them again. He never does.

 

_\- reset -_

 

The majority of Jack and Gabe's 11 year marriage had been spent arguing. Gentle, friendly, and inconsequential most of the time. But when they got angry, they were explosive.

The night before Gabe left for his trip to the Shambali monastery, they got into a huge fight. Over what Jack doesn't even remember. It doesn't matter anymore. Gabe shoved him into a wall, Jack threw a desk lamp across the room, and they both went to bed angry. Gabe left in the morning for Kathmandu without saying goodbye.

They never got to apologize.

"Jack, open up please." Ana knocks on his office door. He ignores her and turns back to his wall of monitors.

He's been at work for hours. He's lost track of the time. Jack plays the security footage over for the thousandth time. Gabe thanks the cashier and makes a right out of the store. That was the last anyone had seen or heard of him.

The hike to the Shambali monastery takes 5 hours. When Gabe didn't arrive after a day, he got worried. After three days he had Overwatch put out a search party. As weeks passed and no sign of him appeared, everyone except Jack abandoned the search.

Another set of knocks, louder and stronger. "Jack, open this door or I am going to knock it down!"

Jack gets out of his chair and stomps over to the enterance.

"How dare you speak to me like that Ana! I'm your superior officer!"

Ana pushes past him into his office as though he's not there. She looks aghast at the screens splaying out information on Gabe's disappearance. She curses under her breath and gives him an angry glare.

"Dammit Jack, I thought you'd moved past this. Gabriel disappeared seven months ago. No one has found anything. You have to open yourself up to the possibility he-"

"Don't say it Ana."

"Fine. But locking yourself up for days at a time to search for him isn't healthy. Look at yourself Jack. When was the last time you ate? Or slept?"

"Ana, I'm not giving up on him like you and everyone else! I have to find him! I have to know what happened."

"Jack, Gabriel wouldn't want you to waste yourself away searching for him. I'm ordering you to drop this. Go get some rest."

"But-"

"Jack I will force you if I have to."

Jack doesn't argue. He eats a small meal in the mess hall before retiring to his quarters. He tosses and turns in his bed, not able to sleep because when he closes his eyes all he sees is Gabe.

 

_\- reset -_

 

Jack met Gabe on a blind date. It was disastrous and awkward, and ended with Jack tripping over his feet and face-planting into a pothole. But Gabe liked him anyway. They've been together  for one year, seven months, and thirteen blissful days.

On a morning walk through the park by their apartment Jack passes by man selling jewelry. A row of shiny rings that sparkle like stars catches his eye. He decides right then and there he wants to spend the rest of his life with Gabe. He buys a ring, sturdy and gleaming gold, with the intentions of proposing soon.

That night when they go out to dinner Jack brings the ring with him. Right before their waiter serves dessert he gets down on one knee, takes the velvet box out from his back pocket, and says the words he's rehearsed in his head all afternoon.

Gabe doesn't smile, doesn't laugh, doesn't cry happy tears. He bites his lip, and looks conflicted and pained. Jack's smile goes from elated to pleading and desperate.

He closes the ring box.

"I'm so sorry Jack. I love you, but I don't think we're ready for that kind of commitment yet."

Their relationship is never the same afterwards. They stay together another two months before going separate ways. Years later he runs into him at a cafe eating brunch with someone new. They both wear silver wedding bands on their fingers.

 

_\- reset -_

 

A game of cat and mouse between Jack, Gabe, and a hoarde of nulltroopers ensues in an Italian mansion along the Adriatic Sea. The villa is three stories with high marble archways and terracotta roofs. It must have been gorgeous before the crisis. Jack can picture all the swanky parties that must happened on the patio. Now it's fallen into ruin.

With the original owner long gone (Dead? Missing? Jack isn't sure.) the mansion has been converted into a refugee shelter. Over a hundred people have taken up in its dozens of rooms. They were safe for a while. Now it's overrun with omnics on a genocidal mission to clear the building of all human presence.

"Gabriel! Jack! I've almost got everyone out." Reinhardt shouts to them over the comms unit. "Only one more group of civilians left up on the top floor."

"Good. Try to be quick. Jack and I are almost out of ammo."

"Roger that!"

Nulltroopers swarm them. They're outgunned and outnumbered, but they don't need to take them all out, only keep them distracted. He and Gabe dodge and weave between columns so their fire is focused on them and not Reinhardt, who leads the refugees out behind his enormous shield.

Jack ducks for cover behind a turned over table. A bullet misses his skull by mere inches. The high-pitched whizz as it passes his ear scares the living daylights out of him. He gasps for air. His legs are on fire. He's fast, but he can't keep this up forever.

"Stay there." Gabe shouts. "I'm going to draw their fire towards me."

"Gabe wait!"

It all happens in slow motion. The nulltroopers firing at him from behind, the bullets piercing his torso, Gabe falling through the air and collapsing in a heap on the cold, marble floor.

Jack uses his last ammo to take out the gang of nulltroopers that shot him down. Three rapidfire shots deadcenter in their glowing, red eyes.

With the gentle hands of a lover he scoops Gabe up and carries him into one of the bedrooms. He's alive, but only just. Three bullet holes pierce the right side of his chest, forming a bloody triangle on his jacket. His pulse is weak and his eyes are wide and glassy. He's gone into shock.

Jack covers the wounds to slow the bleeding. Blood spills onto his hands, coating them in sticky, angry red. The pressure doesn't seem to help stop the flow.

"Hang in there Gabe. I'm going to get you out of here."

"No. Not enough time." He rasps. "Leave me. H-help Reinhardt."

"No, I'm not leaving you behind! I won't let you die!"

"You have to."

Gabe coughs up a mouthful of blood. His breathing is shallow and labored. The life inside him is fading away before his eyes. Even if Jack sprinted fast as he could back to the airship Gabe would die before he gets there.

"I love you."

Gabe smiles. "Love you too."

Jack presses a gentle kiss to his forehead, and cradles him in his lap until his breathing ceases. When Reinhardt gives the all clear he carries his body back to the airship. Gabe deserves a proper burial.

 

_\- reset -_

 

Every other Saturday in the fall Jack loads up his truck with produce and drives into the city to sell it at the local farmer's market. It's two hours each way, but the money he makes is well worth the hassle.

His farmstand is busy this morning, despite the fog and on and off rain. The forecasters predict today will be the last fairweather day until next spring. Everyone wants to take advantage of the warm temperatures while they still can.

Jack's produce flies off the shelves. After a couple hours all he has left are a few crates of corn. He counts the money in his register and comes out with a more than satisfactory total. He decides his last customer for the day will be this muscular man in the black beanie.

"That's $3.50."

The man pulls out a crisp five dollar bill from his wallet. Their hands brush as Jack takes his money. A strange, yet familiar electricity passes through him. He lingers a few seconds longer than necessary before putting the money in the register. He counts out his change, and when he looks back up the man's gaze is still on him. He stares at him with furrowed brows and pursed lips.  

"Hey uh… everything alright?"

Color floods the man's cheeks. "Sorry. You just look really familiar. Have we met before?"

"I don't think so." Jack shrugs. The man is a stranger to him. Though he has to admit his features are striking and familiar.

"Yeah, me either."

Jack hands the man his change, but he puts it on the table and slides it back to him.

"Keep it."

He gives him a warm smile before he turns to leave. Jack watches him walk to another stand selling apples, and racks his memory to figure out if he's met this guy before.

 

_\- reset -_

 

Jack feels like he barely knows his sparring partner, Soldier 24, aka Gabriel Reyes. He's quiet, introverted, and doesn't like to have the spotlight on him. Ergo, he doesn't talk about himself much.

Jack learns about him through observation. He notices little things. He's left-handed. He takes his coffee black. He has dimples on his cheeks that only show when he laughs. And he's the only guy Jack's ever seen use the chess table in the rec room.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" Jack asks one day when he's playing alone.

Gabriel looks up from his game in surprise. Jack shoots him a warm smile, which he reciprocates.

"Sure."

Jack straddles the chair across from him. "Gotta warn you, I'm not very good. I learned everything I know from my Grandpa and he… also wasn't very good."

Gabriel laughs. "My Grandpa taught me how to play too."

From that day on they're inseparable.

 

_\- continue -_

 

Jack half leads half drags Gabe up the long flight of stairs. Only a few more steps and they'll be at the top. Despite this, Gabe still protests.

"Jack, we're going to get caught."

"And if we do the guards should thank us. We just saved the world from getting destroyed by a bunch of killer robots."

He and Gabe are technically trespassing being up here, the tower isn't open yet. But damn it, they're war heroes. If they want to climb to the top of the Eiffel tower with a bottle of champagne then they should be allowed to.

He and Gabe step out onto the balcony. The view of the city below is breathtaking. The sky is alight with fireworks. The people celebrating in the streets look like they're made of legos.

Jack takes a swig from the champagne bottle and hands it to Gabe. He takes a sip before setting it on the ground and leaning on the railing.

"Alright Jack, I'll admit it. This isn't your worst idea ever."

"I told you so."

Gabe slides his hand over on the railing until it bumps into his. Jack's heart skips a beat. He intertwines their pinkies, then their hands. They turn to face each other, and Gabe gives him a delicate smile and caresses his cheek with soft, calloused fingers.

Gabe is his best friend. He's the person he wants to come home to at the end of the day, and spend the rest of his life with. He cares about him more than anything. He would die for him if he has to.

He loves him.

Somewhere, somehow, without even realizing it, Jack's fallen in love with him. Standing under the night sky, looking into his deep brown eyes, he decides loving Gabriel Reyes is the most natural, logical thing in the universe for him to do.

They share their first kiss to the soundtrack of fireworks and cheers of victory.

 

_\- continue -_

 

They get married on a black sand beach in Maui. A small, intimate ceremony with only a few of their closest friends.

When they share their vows the sky opens up and pours down buckets. They carry on anyway, kissing for the first time as husbands in the rain.

 

_\- continue -_

 

Gabe grabs his arm as he walks down the hallway. Jack loses his place in the speech he's rehearsing in his head.

"Hey are you free tonight?" Gabe asks.

"Sorry, I leave for Kuala Lumpur in an hour. What's up?"

"Just wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner. It's been awhile since we've had a date night."

"Sorry, rain check? Or wait- the UN's having a big celebratory gala in Rio next weekend. I know you're not really into diplomatic stuff but- "

He's interrupted by Gabe's phone chiming in his pocket.

"Yeah, I'll try to be there. Sorry, I gotta take this. Love you." He gives him a quick peck on the cheek before sprinting down the hallway, speaking on the phone in rapidfire Japanese. Jack didn't even know he spoke Japanese.

"Love you too."

Next weekend Jack scans the crowd at the gala for Gabe, but he's nowhere to be found. When the party's over he goes to bed alone.

 

_\- continue -_

 

Gabe stomps into his office red-faced and angry and slams a stack of papers down onto his desk. Jack doesn't have to read them to know what they are. He was expecting this reaction from him.

"Are you out of your mind? I can't believe you actually want to bring Dr. O'Deorain back! Have you read her thesis? Do you know what that woman is trying to accomplish?"

"Gabe calm down! These orders come directly from Petras and the board. My hands are tied."

"Seems like your hands are tied a lot these days."

Jack slams his hands on his desk. "Gabe, when have I ever asked you for anything? I've given you full autonomy to run Blackwatch how you see fit for 20 years. I've trusted you, no questions asked, and I've never once held it over your head until today. Please, can you just do this one thing for me?"

Gabe frowns and crosses his arms over his chest. Jack braces himself for a no.  

"Fine. I can probably find some use for her."

 

_\- continue -_

 

Jack's engulfed in a raging sea of flames. He can barely breathe from all the smoke. The air around him is 1000 degrees, and he thinks his skin is going to melt off.

The explosion was meant to kill him. This is his funeral pyre.

People told him for years he was crazy to trust Gabe. He's too reclusive, they said. He has a hidden agenda, they said. He's not trustworthy enough, not loyal enough. Jack never believed a word of it.

Now he's got a hole in his heart and a deep gash in his face courtesy of Gabe to prove they were right.

Jack tries to navigate through the fire and debris, but he's blinded as blood pours into his eyes. He feels his strength leaving him with every step. His legs buckle beneath him, and he loses consciousness.

When he comes to he's lying in a field of soft grass. The pile of rubble that was once the Swiss Headquarters burns off in the distance. He thinks at first this must be a dream, or some kind of afterlife, but his face still stings from where he was cut.

He's alive, and he has no idea how he got here.

 

_\- continue -_

 

Six years pass. Jack assumes Gabe didn't make it out of the explosion. Still, he catches himself wondering from time to time  _"What if?"._

Jack doesn't know what to think when their paths cross once again. He's alive, but he's allied himself with a terrorist organization and fueled by revenge. He's morphed into something beyond human. He can turn into smoke and disappear into thin air. Seeing him like this breaks his heart.

Jack's not prepared for their first fight. If Ana hadn't been there to save him he'd be dead.

He goes back to observing him. He and Ana keep track of his movements. He discovers that even with his strange new powers, he's still Gabe. He still shoots with his left gun first and prefers to get up close and personal with his opponents instead of keeping his distance. Jack still knows his fighting style like the back of his hand.

When they meet again Ana hangs back, and Jack confronts him head on.

There's a moment in their fight when he's knocked down hard. Gabe has a wide opening to shoot him dead, but he doesn't. Even with stars floating in his vision Jack notices his finger hesitate at the trigger. Jack takes advantage of his of moment of weakness. He lunges for Gabe, tackles him by the waist, and pins him to the ground by his wrists.

"It was you who saved me in Switzerland, wasn't it?"

Gabe doesn't answer him. Jack expects him to slither out of his hold, but he remains petrified in place. Jack picks him up, slams him against a wall, and shakes him by the shoulders.

"Why? Why did you hesitate in Cairo? Why are you hesitating now?"

Gabe hangs his head low. Moments pass before he responds.

"Are you really going to make me say it?"

"Yes, because I need to hear it."

Gabe sighs. "I can't do it. I don't want you dead. I care about you too much."

Jack throws his arms around him. Gabe hesitates for only a moment before following suit.

"I'm sorry. I know it doesn't make up for everything, but I'm so, so sorry." Jack whispers.

"I'm sorry too."

"How did things get so fucked up between us?"

"I don't know."

They stay like that, silent and wrapped in each other's embrace, for what feels like an eternity. Jack wonders if things can be okay between them. Is it possible to heal their beaten and bruised relationship? He decides he wants to try.

"Where do we go from here Gabe? Are we just going to keep fighting like this?"

"No, we're going to work together." Gabe releases himself from his embrace and puts his hands on his shoulders. "Talon's planning something big, something dangerous. They need to be stopped. Jack, and I need your and Ana's help to take them down."

 

_\- continue -_

 

Talon is defeated, and the world is safe once again. For now. There's always a new threat lurking under the surface. Which is why Overwatch is reinstated. This time it will be better. They won't make the same mistakes as last.

He watches the official reinstatement ceremony on a television screen in a dingy diner in Albuquerque. Gabe sits across from him, looking down at the formica table top and wearing a hood to obscure his face. A waiter comes and brings them their food. Jack a cheeseburger and fries, Gabe a glass of water.

"Want one?" Jack offers him a fry from his plate.

"No thanks. I'm still having trouble keeping food down."

"Oh right. How is the recovery going?"

"How do I look?" Gabe lifts his head from the table. Burned and disfigured, but recognizably human. He's come a long way.

On the TV there's an uproarious applause. Fareeha Amari has just been sworn in as Overwatch 2.0's new Strike Commander. Ana beams with pride as she places a medal over her daughter's shoulders. She came back from the dead and out of obscurity just for this.

"Do you think you're going to go back to Overwatch?" Gabe asks.

"If Fareeha needs me for anything I'll be there, but I've had my time in the spotlight. Strike Commander Morrison is dead. I think it's best it stay that way."

"So you're going quietly into retirement?"

"I don't know about that." Jack laughs. "What about you? What are you going to do now that Overwatch is back?"

"I don't know. But whatever I end up doing, I'd like to do it with you."

Gabe slides his hand across the table and rests it on top of his.

 

_\- continue -_


End file.
